December 3 – 15, 2025 Most Recent Posts:
Fort Clinch State Park On The Water At Flagler
Site 15 November in Florida
Fernandina Beach Florida
On Wednesday the 3rd I left Gamble Rogers and headed right back where I’d just come from. If only they’d let me stay a month I wouldn’t have to bother. My trip down to Florida has been streamlined over the years and my first stop is always Fernandina Beach since Gamble is too far to drive in one day from my stop in South Carolina.
Usually I split November between Fernandina and Gamble and then move on west. But for years I’ve wanted to do the Fernandina Dicken’s on Centre celebration and I decided this year was the one. So I headed back to Fort Clinch to do it.
When entering the park to get to either campground you drive a mile down a gorgeous tree lined road. I’m not sure I’ve shown this on the blog before so it’s the only thing I’m going to show about the park this time.
It’s an absolutely beautiful drive and although the road is wide enough for two way traffic, I’m not sure it’s wide enough for a big rig and/or a big 5th wheel to pass going in opposite directions without extreme care. The problem is the greenery leaning out into the road that will scratch the side of your rig if you get too close.
My purpose for being here a second time was Dickens On Centre which for me began with the Holiday Home tour on Friday December 5th. The tour runs for two days, the 5th and 6th, but you have to pick which day you. I had bought my ticket on line and picked it from the Amelia Island Museum of History where, if you get there early enough, you can park in their small parking lot and walk to the houses around town which I did. Your ticket also gives free admission to the museum but by the time I’d walked around to see all the houses I was done.
Unfortunately no photographs were allowed in the house so I don’t have much of the lovely holiday decorations to share. In addition to the 3 homes, there was a 1950’’s drug store and the another building sort of turned into condominiums. The last two were not as interesting. Be sure to check what houses will be open before buying your ticket. Last year all 5 were Victorians. It’s always the first week of December so if you are in the neighborhood I’d recommend it.
I’ll let the pictures show you part of what I saw. Unfortunately most of the holiday decorations were on the inside.
This is the Swan-Kelly house built in 1889 by Samuel Swann. Kelly was its 4th owner not sure why he gets billing. This property spans 3 city lots and has a magnificent entry featuring an inlaid ceiling and mahogany staircase lined with stained glass windows which they would not let me take pictures of sadly. It was beautifully decorated.
The master bedroom is in what I guess I’d call the tower room there on the right with all the windows. But they have the bed on the windows wall so no one can sit and look out of them. Still they provide marvelous light unless you are in mid summer and they would also provide heat. I would have loved to see the room that is the 3 window dormer on the third floor but the tour didn’t include that.
A closer picture of the second story porch decorations. This was the most interesting and well decorated house on the tour.
Close up of the lower porch and entry door. The whole house was seriously decorated. Very festive.
Inside they had this picture of the house from an angle I couldn’t get but prefer.
Outside there were lovely formal gardens
And a large sitting area with an outdoor fireplace.
The movie “All she Ever Wanted” starring Marcia Cross was filmed here in 1996. I hadn’t had time to watch it on Prime Video before doing this post. But I think I’ll give it a try.
These windows are in the kitchen and were so beautiful from the inside with the light streaming in them.
The second home I visited, you could do them in any order, was the only Civil War Era Home (1863). Others were were 1880 early 1900’s era. It’s known now as The Laub House but was formerly known as the Merrick-Simmons House. I’m sorry the current owners felt they had to change the name.
The house has interesting history which I know not because I remembered what the docents said or because the museum gave a nice brochure to those who paid $35 to tour these houses but because at one point in my stays in this area I bought from the Welcome Center a Fernandina Beach Historic Walking Tour guide which I luckily still have and this house and the previous one are on it.
The house was used as a hospital for Union troops during the occupation of Fernandina. It was purchased in 1863 at a tax sale by Chole Merrick who moved here from New York to help establish a Freedman’s School for newly emancipated African Americans in the area.
After the war Miss Merrick married Harrison Reed who was Governor of Florida from 1869-1873. It is one of the few remaining buildings constructed before the Civil War. Like many other towns especially in the east, wonderful historic structures were torn down to make way for new and less interesting homes and buildings.
My third home was the Halliday-Hassman Home This one was not on my walking tour brochure and unfortunately they did not give information out about each home and I do not remember the information provided by the docents.
I laughed out loud when I walked into this room with its very fancy chairs and other furniture to find a big screen TV on the wall tuned to a cartoon. The docent let me take this picture and from then on I snuck a few more.
As you can see my “snuck picture” are not great. The tall woman photo bombed me as I was trying to take a picture the picture on the left of the kitchen. The bedroom chandelier was beautiful but I kept thinking “what if it fell on you in bed”.
Outside pictures were allowed and these next two were taken on the back porch.
The darling little play house needs its roof painted before it rusts all the way through. Metal roofs last forever if you keep them painted.
Off the back porch were some lovely flowers and an interesting non period window to the right.
I couldn’t find a way to sneak a picture of this chandelier in the kitchen so I took this one from the outside. Whoever decorated this house was very fond of ornate chandeliers. The two I’ve shown were not the only ones.
Not sure who she was asking to notice the flowers since I was the only one behind her.
The play house has now been turned into an office. Look in, don’t go in. Nothing period about it. But like the house, the two or perhaps even more shades of pink are interesting.
Time for lunch and since I was walking right by Peppers to visit the 1950’s vintage former Waas Drugstore, I stopped for lunch on the patio.
You can barely see but Waas is right across the street from my table.
Here it is and two of its docents are dressed for the occasion. Loved his shoes
The drugstore was built in 1958 and was acquired by the First Presbyterian Church in 2000 and remodeled inside as a youth center. Inside there is nothing left of the original drug store except the “Colored” entrance in the back. There were some old pictures hanging on the wall but I was quite disappointed that this building took up a spot on the tour.
The final thing I went to see was a 2024 development of new townhouses built on the inland waterway on the lot of the demolished Marine Welcome Station famous for offering free orange juice to visitors or of the city bus station. The docents said the latter, the internet says the former for the property at that address.
The docents claim the front wall seen here that you drive through was the original bus station and was left standing. Hmmmm, makes a good story. Like one of those false front western movie buildings.
Whatever. One of the 5 3 story townhouses was on the tour. I guess the garage we entered the home through that you can see in the above picture is considered a story. That’s the only way to get inside. I don’t remember anything about the second story or what was there just that there was a narrow winding pretty much one person staircase leading to the top floor and these views of the water. I wondered how they got all the furniture here. Did they build the house around it?
The town house has 2300+ square feet, not sure if that’s counting the garage. It has 3 bedrooms, 2 baths and sold for over $1,000,000. WHAT? I guess for the water views.
This view is out the bedroom window looking down at the back of the front wall or whatever they are calling it.
I do recommend the tour but as I said, be sure to check which homes are going to be on it before you sign up. The money does go to support the Amelia Island History Museum which is a good cause. I guess I’ll see it next time since I was more than finished on this day.
